


should old acquaintance be forgot

by strikethesun



Series: wars of the roses modern/reincarnation AU [4]
Category: 15th Century CE RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Implied/Referenced Sex, Multi, New Year's Eve, Threesome - F/M/M, this crackship has been living in my head rent-free and i needed to get it out there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:35:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28431783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strikethesun/pseuds/strikethesun
Summary: Or maybe, more simply, Anne was another fool like Margaret, finding herself hopelessly in love with her old husband. Husbands, plural. That was Anne’s problem, and that was the one that she determined to solve this New Year’s Eve, entering into the next year with some sort of answer to the question ofwho. Or die trying,she thought with a chuckle.subtitle: an anne/richard/edward holiday special
Relationships: Anne Neville Queen of England/Richard III of England/Edward of Lancaster | Prince of Wales
Series: wars of the roses modern/reincarnation AU [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1831168
Comments: 6
Kudos: 8





	should old acquaintance be forgot

**Author's Note:**

> includes several references to [this crazy lazy river that we call life,](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25071943) but hopefully the context isn't _too_ needed

_ If you actually managed to do it—said ‘fuck you’ to my son  _ and _ Richard, and started a completely new life—I’d love you for it. We all would. _

__ Anne understood that Margaret hadn’t meant those words as a way to place her in a different sort of trap— _ or did she?  _ the woman was certainly crafty—but that’s exactly what they had done to her. She had tried everything: dating Edward, first, getting to know him as more than just a faint shadow cast over the rest of her life and really happening to love him, too, but she couldn’t stop there, not without knowing, second, what it was like to date Richard. It turned out to be infinitely better than being married to him, but in such a different way from the joys of dating Edward that she was left with no more inclination towards one or the other from when she had started. 

So she followed Margaret’s advice. She went to a college and a grad school far away from either of them, keeping up only friendly, casual communication with each of her ex-husbands/boyfriends, and had a variety of romantic and sexual experiences, ranging from experimental hookups to fairly long-lasting and meaningful relationships with men, women, and others alike. But Anne was doomed from the start. No one could understand her in the way that Edward and Richard could, because she was made out of the same stuff as them, or perhaps because the three of them sometimes seemed to be the only ones in the world capable of understanding that  _ everyone  _ was made out of the same stuff, stuck in an eternal cavalcade of history, unable to do anything about what came before you but feeling each pinch and shock and upheaval regardless.

Or maybe, more simply, Anne was another fool like Margaret, finding herself hopelessly in love with her old husband.  _ Husbands,  _ plural.  _ That _ was Anne’s problem, and that was the one that she determined to solve this New Year’s Eve, entering into the next year with some sort of answer to the question of  _ who. Or die trying,  _ she thought with a chuckle.

* * *

Edward pulled away. “Jesus Christ, Richard.”

Richard stared at him, wounded. “Don’t tell me I misunderstood…”

“No, no,” Edward managed through his laughter, “no, I’m just…” At a loss for words, he grabbed the back of Richard’s head and went in for another kiss, this one much longer and more passionate. 

This time, Richard was the one to pull away, nearly shaking from excitement. “ _ God,  _ I never would’ve thought you felt the same way.”

“You’re just as confused as I am,” Edward said, and it was true, for this was certainly the last thing he was expecting when he went over to Richard’s apartment for what was simply supposed to be a casual dinner between friends. They truly had become  _ friends,  _ bonding to a surprising extent in Anne’s absence, eventually even working their way up to being able to speak frankly about Tewkesbury and other events between 1470 and 1471. Over the past few months, however, something had clearly changed in their interactions, but it was difficult to figure out the cause. Richard had had several relationships with other men since “breaking up” with Anne, so he was somewhat more prepared to notice that occasionally his chest hurt when he looked at Edward for too long, even when his back was turned and all he could see was his lean, tall frame and dark, curly hair from behind. Edward, on the other hand, had only ever really had eyes for Anne, and so he was slightly disturbed to realize that he dreamt of being in Richard’s arms far too often for his feelings towards his friend to be entirely platonic. 

A brief moment of intense eye contact and an ill-timed question about love lives had turned into a touch, a hug, and then a kiss. And at the end of all of that, another revelation slowly dawned on both of their faces before they had even let go of each other’s hands— _ Anne.  _

“She’s coming over for New Year’s.” 

“Do we tell her beforehand?”

“What is there to tell?”

“That we did  _ this _ ,” Edward replied, beginning to unbutton his shirt. Richard wordlessly unzipped his pants.

* * *

Anne grabbed another slice of sausage pizza, freshly delivered to Richard’s apartment, and leaned back in her seat. “You know, I really appreciate you guys agreeing to this.”

Edward looked between Anne and Richard with a tense expression. “...is this not just a fun, regular New Year’s Eve party?”

“Well,” Anne sighed, “if it were only that, I probably would have suggested you invite more people over, beyond just my ex-husbands.”

Richard nodded, following her logic, but no less visibly concerned than Edward. “...so then what else is this?”

Anne stared down at the intricate woolen pattern on her tights, stretched by her crossed legs. “An apology.” When neither man spoke, Anne continued, “An apology for not being able to choose between you two. For leaving you in this sort of limbo...I don’t want us to live like this anymore.” She visibly swallowed, and looked back up at them. “I don’t know who I love more. At this point, I think you’ve managed to come out in a complete tie, and I’m sorry for that.”

“Oh, I think we’ve come out in a tie _ ,  _ alright, _ ”  _ Richard said, and then Edward and Richard, who had been holding hands under the table, suddenly brought their arms up where Anne could see them. 

Edward broke the silence with a long sigh and a laugh. “Well, this new development might just solve all of our problems, as long as you’re not too traditionally-minded.”

Anne’s mouth hung open as she put the pieces together—when it took her more than a second, Richard leaned over to kiss Edward on the cheek, as though the image needed to be any stranger. “Have you guys been fucking without me?”

“Not for long,” Richard said. “We seriously didn’t realize this was a thing until a week or two ago.”

“So you’re suggesting a threesome?”

“I guess, yeah,” Edward mumbled. “To be honest, we thought  _ we  _ were going to be the bearers of bad news because it would turn out that you were madly in love with one or the other of us, and that this new angle would just make it too awkward.”

“And I,” Richard added, “was hoping that you came here to tell us that you had met the most amazing woman in grad school and were already planning on settling down with her. Not that I don’t love you, of course, but the fantasy was based more around  _ your  _ best interests.”

Anne remembered Margaret’s words once again.  _ I’d love you for it. We all would.  _ “You know, that would definitely be cooler, and probably much healthier too, but I think I get why your parents are back together, Edward. Being a reincarnate is  _ hard,  _ and after a while you can’t help but love the people you’re stuck with.”

“How romantic, for both us  _ and  _ my poor parents,” Edward said, then broke into laughter once again. “Well, with all these cards suddenly on the table, why don’t we start playing?” Richard nearly hit him in response.

(The three began the night cuddling while watching TV coverage of the ball drop, then rang in the New Year with decidedly different energy, though the author chooses to give these lovebirds their privacy and leave these acts up to the reader’s imagination. Cue  _ Auld Lang Syne,  _ and curtain.)


End file.
